Acting DHS chief Chad Wolf is reportedly planning a 'boondoggle' December tour of Latin America, a coronavirus hotspot, for no apparent reason
- Department of Homeland Security acting secretary Chad Wolf is planning a tour of Latin America from December 7, The Washington Post reported.
- A DHS source told The Post the weeklong trip — to Brazil, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador — is "a boondoggle," or an unnecessary undertaking.
- Latin America is badly hit by COVID-19 and, as of Wednesday, one in every three COVID-19 deaths has come from the region.
- "There are no specific events requiring the travel. The region is hard-hit by COVID and embassies will be hard-pressed to deal with so many visitors in a COVID-safe way," the source told The Post.
Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is planning a vague tour of Latin America despite the region's raging COVID-19 crisis, The Washington Post reported.
The weeklong trip would begin on December 7, The Post said, and likely include visits to Brazil, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Latin America and the US have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, but Latin America is suffering uniquely in that it is reporting extremely high mortality rates.
The rates are so bad that, as of this week, one in every three global deaths from COVID-19 has taken place in Latin America, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Brazil is the worst-hit country in the region in terms of infections, followed by Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
Wolf's trip is "a boondoggle," or an unnecessary undertaking, a DHS source told The Post.
"There are no specific events requiring the travel," the person said. "The region is hard-hit by COVID and embassies will be hard-pressed to deal with so many visitors in a COVID-safe way."
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. The agency told The Post it "does not comment on allegedly leaked documents."
Among the topics to be discussed on the tour are "cargo security to cybercrime and criminal fugitives," The Post reported.
The nature of Wolf's trip means he would also require a Secret Service security detail to travel with him.
Acting secretary Wolf was nominated to the post of DHS secretary by President Donald Trump in August 2020.